I will stay out of the cartridge debate although I think you are headed int he right direction.

My input would be on scope selection. For westside hunting, I would suggest going with a scope with a lower range than the 4.5 you mentioned. If you are planning on shots 100 yds. plus then nothing wrong with a 4.5 x 14 but if you are anticipating closer shooting in thick conditions, I would lean towards a 3-9 range scope. All my rifles have Leopold 3.5x10 VariX III scopes and even these sometimes I wish backed off a little. For what its worth the Leopold 2.5 x 8 is a great brushy area scope.

Good luck!